Foreign Ministry: Saddam's regime allowed the Turks to enter Iraq for 5 km for limited days

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[size=52]Foreign Ministry: Saddam's regime allowed the Turks to enter Iraq for 5 km for limited days[/size]

[size=45]The Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed the content of an agreement between the former regime and the Turkish side allowing the latter to enter Iraqi territory, indicating that the current violations come in contravention of this agreement, which was contained in the minutes of a meeting held before 2003,[/size]
[size=45]Stressing that these recent military operations were not coordinated between the two parties. This comes at a time, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan reported that the Turkish forces entered Iraqi territory at a depth of 200 km, and considered it an occupation that required the political blocs to unite and take an appropriate stance towards it.[/size]
[size=45]The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced last week the start of a ground and air attack targeting PKK sites inside Iraqi territory. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Al-Sahaf said, "Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein attended with him the advanced staff in the ministry to the House of Representatives yesterday, in a session that witnessed a set of questions centered on the measures taken against violations of Iraqi sovereignty by some neighboring countries, specifically Iran and Turkey."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sahaf added, "The Minister of Foreign Affairs presented a number of perceptions with a historical dimension about Turkish violations of Iraqi lands, and in his speech he passed on the transformation and presence of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) since 1984." He explained, "Talking about the existence of an agreement with Turkey regarding the presence of its forces on Iraqi territory is incorrect, and there is no such agreement," noting that "this statement was made more than once and we repeat it today that there is no agreement or memorandum of understanding allowing Turkish forces to enter the territories." Iraq.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sahaf stated, “Agreements between countries have certain formalities, and are issued by law from the legislative authority, represented by the House of Representatives.”[/size]
[size=45]And he continues, "The Iraqi parliament issued a resolution in 2009 in which it also indicated that there was no agreement in this regard, but rather that it copied all previous understandings before 2003 that allowed the Turkish side to enter our lands." Al-Sahaf pointed out, "The presence of minutes of a meeting between Iraq and Turkey before 2003 allows the latter to enter its forces to a depth of 5 kilometers inside our lands for limited days to neutralize the PKK, and to carry out some operations in coordination with the Iraqi government." And he stated, "What is currently happening is a series of repeated violations by the Turkish side that have no basis in law, whether in terms of agreements, memoranda of understanding or any joint coordination." Al-Sahaf noted that "the Turkish side invokes Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, including the principle of self-defence, as it considers this a priority to preserve its national security." And he stated, "Iraq considers these operations within its territory hostile and unilateral, and they represent a blatant violation of sovereignty and a clear violation of the principles of good neighborliness." Al-Sahaf stressed, "All these violations have been discussed with the Turkish side over the past years, and we have informed Parliament of all that Iraq can take in the face of this violation." He stated, "The reality puts us in front of one definition, the content of which is that any entry and presence of Turkish forces in Iraqi territory is not based on a previous understanding with the government, but rather that it represents a clear encroachment on the country, and leads to harm and terror on the citizens." Al-Sahhaf added, “The procedural rules of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are purely diplomatic, represented in delivering protest notes to the Turkish ambassador, a measure we have recently taken, and a clear condemnation and denunciation, and we have done so.” And he continues, that "every time, Iraq documents violations and takes them to the Security Council and the United Nations." Al-Sahaf stressed, "The ministry discussed with Parliament the method of response and options, whether in terms of the hard force represented by the military response and the extent of Iraq's interest in taking this path, or resorting to other measures represented by diplomatic, political, economic and commercial dialogues." He finds, "The whole issue needs a clear political will by the Parliament and the Iraqi government, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the executive arm as far as the diplomatic track is concerned."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sahaf added, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs finds that in the political solution and the diplomatic track there are two ways that will guarantee results that enhance the common interests between the two countries." And he added, "The discussion with the House of Representatives also touched on the Iranian missile bombing of Erbil, and the ministry looks at the violations with one eye, and the sovereignty file cannot be divided, and we must adopt the same procedural rules that we take every time."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sahaf added that "Iran claims the presence of foreign intelligence agencies in locations in Erbil, and Iraq considers these allegations to be subjective, and the bombing that took place represents a violation of sovereignty, and took measures represented by issuing a strongly worded statement of condemnation and a protest note that was delivered to the Iranian ambassador in Baghdad." For his part, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Ghiath al-Sorji, stated that "the current political conflict and the delay in forming the government are factors that led to the failure to deal seriously with Turkish violations of Iraqi lands."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sorji added, "The Turkish forces violated all covenants and entered a depth of 200 kilometers, contrary to the agreement that was with the previous regime, which allowed them to penetrate for several kilometers in order to ward off the danger."[/size]
[size=45]He stressed, "the need for the political blocs to agree to stop these abuses, which represent a clear occupation of Iraqi lands, and to preserve national sovereignty, as well as the case with Iranian violations."[/size]
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